Valediction
phrase used to politely end a letter, speech, or conversation
A valediction (derivation from Latin vale dicere 'to say farewell'), parting phrase, or complimentary close in American English, is an expression used to say farewell, especially a word or phrase used to end a letter or message, or a speech made at a farewell.
Valediction's counterpart is a greeting called a salutation.
Oral valedictions
Parting phrases are used to acknowledge the parting of individuals or groups of people from each other. They are an element of parting traditions. Parting phrases are specific to culture and situation, and vary based on the social status and relationship of the persons involved.
Religious and traditional parting phrases
"As-Salamu Alaykum" or "Salam" ("Peace be upon you"), used among Muslims and Arabs
"Goodbye", an English parting phrase used in the West, is a contraction of "God be by ye".
"Khuda Hafiz" ("God protect (you)"), used among Iranians and South Asian Muslims
"Namaste", parting phrase of Indian origin
"Shalom" ("Peace"), used among Jewish people as a parting and greeting phrase
Written valedictions
Valedictions normally immediately precede the signature in written correspondence. The word or words used express respect, esteem, or regard for the person to whom the correspondence is directed, and the exact form used depends on a number of factors.
In British English, valedictions have largely been replaced by the use of "Yours sincerely" or "Yours faithfully". "Yours sincerely" is typically employed in English when the recipient is addressed by name (e.g.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Valediction” is phrase used to politely end a letter, speech, or conversation. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Valediction, phrase and used, not as a finished interpretation.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15076965. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Valediction” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.